Cole admits FA charge over Twitter rant

England defender Ashley Cole has admitted a misconduct charge from the Football Association (FA) for an insulting comment he made on Twitter, the governing body said on Thursday.

"Ashley Cole has admitted an FA charge in relation to a Twitter comment which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute," read a statement on the FA website (www.thefa.com).

"Cole has requested a non-personal hearing, the date of which has yet to be set," added the FA.

The Chelsea defender was charged by the FA following his offensive tweet after the governing body's independent commission had queried what they described as his "evolving" evidence in the John Terry racial abuse verdict.

Terry was found guilty of racially insulting Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand and banned for four matches. Cole gave evidence on his Chelsea team mate's behalf.

Cole, who has played 98 times for England, apologised personally to FA chairman David Bernstein for the insult and deleted the tweet a few hours after it was posted last Friday.